Natural
by ObliviousTrace
Summary: Some things in life are so natural, you wonder why you never saw them in the first place. RHr


**Natural **

This was wrong.

I don't know if I was the only ones who thought that. I probably was. The twins looked a little mutinous, but they always did.

I just knew in my gut that this wasn't supposed to happen.

He looked at me nervously, asking for approval, scared out of his wits. I smiled weakly at him, though it hurt like nothing ever had before.

Until she walked in.

Then the look in his eyes almost made me cry out. He loved her so much. How could I begrudge my best friend that? He had lost everyone else he had ever loved. It was only fair that he should have her.

_Fair has nothing to do with it, _my treacherous brain said.

Then I looked at her, really _saw _her for the first time in weeks. And my blood turned to lead in my veins.

I had never seen anything so beautiful. Her hair, her willowy figure clad in that dress of moonbeam, her eyes…

Gazing at him. Shining at him.

I swallowed hard and tried to block out everything. I must have gotten through the rest of the ceremony alright. I must have handed them the rings, the ones that would bind them together away from me, but I don't remember anything.

I must have choked out my speech, because there was laughter and applause. I must have not tripped when I danced, because I saw girls smiling at me.

But then she was in my arms and we were dancing and I was dying.

"Ron?"

I met her eyes. Her eyes, full of concern and pain and…_something_ else.

"Do…do we have your blessing?"

I gazed at her and I was proud of myself for not screaming.

"Of course, Hermione. You and Harry have my blessing. I'm happy for you."

And in a really strange way, I was.

We saw them off, and everyone was laughing. Luna caught the bouquet, and I saw her looking at me through the crowd. For the first time in that ghastly day, something actually was funny, and I was laughing with the rest of them.

I got home late, stumbling through the door because of one too many glasses of champagne. I tripped over something and let out a muffled yelp, turning on the light so that I could see.

And somehow it was perfectly natural to see her sitting in my apartment, wearing the same dress that she had just been married to my best friend in.

I stared and she stared back. After a while, I walked over to a chair opposite from her and sat down. I waited for the explanation that had to come.

"We…" She paused to recover herself. It looked hard for her. "Harry and I got home, to the house we picked out ourselves, and looked at the combination of our things, put in the same place. And we both knew that it was wrong."

I didn't say anything. I just gazed levelly.

"It was mutual. We're friends, we'll always be. And we love each other. We just…"

"Does he have someone else?"

She looked up, startled. She obviously hadn't been expecting me to say anything, and certainly not that.

"No-no, I don't think so. Not yet anyway."

I didn't say what I wanted to. _Do you? Am I…?_

Hermione was waiting for me to say it, but pride and stupidity got the best of me. She bit her lower lip between her teeth and turned her head away sharply. I saw tears in her eyes.

"I-I wanted to give you back your wedding gift." For the first time, I noticed the beautiful bowl sitting on the coffee table.

_"It's a Pensieve. I wanted you two to be able to look over all the times we had together, all the crazy adventures. Show them to your kids." I smiled as they exclaimed over the gift, love shining out of their faces as they looked at each other._

Not that kind of love after all.

"Keep it. You or Harry, I don't care which. But keep it."

She nodded and picked it up solemnly, standing up to leave. She reached the door before she turned around.

"Ron…" she choked out. Then she was gone.

I sank back, stunned at my stupidity and stubbornness. I had let the only woman I had ever loved leave me twice in the same night. I closed my eyes and drew in a ragged breath.

There was knocking, but it took me a few times to hear it. Sullenly, I dragged myself out of my chair and walked to the door.

I opened it and was immediately slapped on the face. My mind reeled and so did my body.

"You stupid git! Won't you ever get it?" My beautiful girl threw her arms around my neck and kissed me furiously. I held onto her tightly and kissed back. The Pensieve crashed to the floor and broke, but nothing could tear us away from each other. We didn't need it anyway. Our memories were real enough, in each other's lips, in the feel of our bodies pressed against each other.

The door closed softly.


End file.
